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JOHN MARSHALL. 



1801-1901. 



sleni'Y B. nnd Ada ll. ?;ei/."i.<^^y. 



1801-1901. 



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(^elebration of... 



John Marshall Day 



Monday, 
February 4, 

1901. 



BY THE 

EFFINGHAM COUNTY BAR, 
EFFINGHAM, ILLINOIS. 



E'302 

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PROGRAM. 



Invocation Rev. W H. Pool 

Soiiit— AuiericJi. 

Address — "Marshall as an Advocate and Expounder of 
the Constitution" H. B. Kepi.ey 

Sono-— The Star-Span f^ied Banner. 

Address— "What has all this to do with Marshaliy 

K. C. Hakkah 

Song" — Hail Coin in hi a. 

Address — ''Marshall as an Exponent of thn Civil as 
Contradistinguished fronj the Military Power in 
Govei-nraenf S. P\ Gilmore 

Song — The Red. White and Blue. 

Address — "Mai-shall as a Judge" Wm. B. Wktuhi' 

Song — Battle Hymn of the Republic. 

Address— "Marshall as a Patriot" Ada H Kepley 

Song — Home, Sweet Home. 

Benediction Rev. S. M. Mouton 



PROCEEDINGS. 



John Marshall Day was celebrated at Effino-- 
ham by the Effingham County Bar on February 4th, 
19Ul, the one hundredth anniversary of his induction 
into the office of Chief Justice of the United States. 

Hon. Benson Wood presided, and after an elo- 
quent and interesting- opening address, introduced 
Kev. W. H. Pool, of the Methodist Church, who 
offered the following invocation: 

■■( )ur Father, who art in Heaven. v;e thank Thee, Thon 
art God, Thou hast power in Thine own hand to make laws, 
to judge and to execute. We thank Thee Thou hast pre- 
served our rights unto this hour. Thou has saved this glor- 
ious land with all her sacred pri^•iliges. Help us to appre- 
ciate wliat vnC have. We are met to celebrate the one hun- 
dredth anniversary of one who wr.s a sliining light in the 
Courts of our land. May the influence of his life and exam- 
ple inspire our people to make better lavs, to judge, to exe- 
cute with force and fidelity. W'e pray Thy blessing upon the 
Effingham Mar. Alay they be like hiiii v.hom we honor today, 
a man of whom it was said, 

"He was conscience made fiesh ; 

He was reason incarnate." 

May they be a blessing to this place ; may they in their 
life be a benediction to- all mankind. Bless the service of to- 
night, and the exercises of the hour throughout the land. Bless 
all the people, and hasten the time v/hen righteousness and 
truth shall prevail over sin and error, and in the name of Him 
Who is Judge of all the earth, we pray that the Kingdom of 
God may be built up in our hearts and in the minds and hearts 
of all our people, for Jesus' sake, Am.en. 

The addresses which appear upon the following- 
pages were then delivered in tlie order in which they 
appea r. 




HON. H. B. KEPLEY. 



ADDRESS B Y HENRY B, KEPLEY, 



'^Marshall as an Advocate and Expounder of the 
Constitution. 

M\-. Chairmoji. Ladies and Gcntlcincn : 

It is not my intention to enter npon a eulog-y of John Mar- 
shall. My limited time will not permit. It is inv ])urpose 
to speak of his great services in connection with the Federal 
Plan of Government, which resulted in the National Govern- 
ment of the United States under the Constitution; of his advo- 
cacy of the adoption and ratification of the Constitution, and 
his able and patriotic interpretation and expounding thereof 
after it had been ratified. 

His great service in connection with the adoption, ratifi- 
cation and interpretation of the Constitution stands as a per- 
petual eulogy of him. His acts in that regard sjjeak Icufler 
than anv w^ords of eulogy which can be uttered. MarshaM 
was conspicuotis among those who advocated the establish- 
ment of a strong Federal government by uniting the States 
into a Xational government, under a Constitution providing 
for three independent, co-ordinate departments — legislative, 
executive and judicial, with the ])owers of each department 
properly defined. 

He believed that the Constitution of the United States, 
with its wisely distributed ]wwers, express as well as im])he(l, 
contained the provisions, ])roperly construed and interjM-eted, 
requisite to an efficient Xational (iovernn-;ent, yet with limita- 
tions w^ell adapted to protect individual liberty. 

In order to full}' a])])reciate the services of Marshall as 
an expounder of the Constitution, and to place upon such ser- 
vices their proper value to the Nation, it is necessary to have 
in mind the state of public sentiment and feeling at the tim..> 
the federal or national plan of govern vent under the Consti- 
tution was devised and ratified. 

The people of the Colonies having, after a 'ong anrl 
l)loodv war, gained their independence, were exceedingly if 
not superstitionsly fearful of the encroachments of a central 
or federal o-overnment, and manv viewed with the utmost 



alarm the movement to form such a government, and the cry 
of "'mcnarchy" was raised, and a wild clamor of "consolida- 
tion" was heard on every hand. 

Many who recognized the fact that an efficient national 
government was requisite to permanence and perpetuity, yet 
led by an imdefined, indescribable fear of a central power, op- 
posed a change from a Confederate to a Xational government. 

( )n one side the Articles of Confederation were consid- 
ered as weak as "a rope of sand." On the other side, the 
sentiment was: Better the weakness of a rope of sand in the 
hands of the people, than the strength of a chain in the hands 
of a central power — a Xational Government. 

Marshall, in after years, described the state of public 
sentiment and opinion against which he and those acting with 
him had to contend, by saying: "The country was divided 
into two great political parties, the one of which contemplated 
America as a nation and labored incessantly to invest the 
P^ederal Head with power competent to the preservation of 
the Union. The other attached itself to the State Govern- 
ments, viewed all the power of Congress with jealousy, and 
assented reluctantly to measures indcDendent of the members." 

Such was the state of public sentiment and feeling against 
which Marshall and his co-workers had to contend in securing 
the adoption and ratification of the constitution and obtaining 
and maintaining an interpretation and construction thereof 
whiich would insure the permanence and perpetuity of th.e 
(jovernment imder the Constitution. 

After the Declaration of Tnde^^enclence, Governmental af 
fairs were conducted bv the Continental Congress which, ai 
most, was but an advisory bodv with undefined authorit\- and 
without the means of enforcing its requests or demands. 

Then foTowed the Articles of Confederation, conferring 
some further Governmental authority, but which fell far short 
of conceding the authority ref|uired to maintain a vigorous 
and efficient Government and to assure the perpetuation of 
the blessings of indejiendence and liberty achieved by the Rev- 
olution. 

Then it was that such men as Washington. Hamilton, 
hTanklin, Marshall. Adams. Jay, Ran(l()l]:)h and others, seeing 



the many defects in the plan of (Government nnder the Arti- 
cles of Confederation and discerning- that a "more perfect 
iniion" was necessary, devised a plan for a federal or national 
government nnder the constitntion. to he adopted by Congress 
and ratified by the States. 

This plan of (lOvernment, designated as the Federal Plan, 
was strenously and l)itterly op]X)sed by Patrick Henry, James 
Monroe, Geo. Clinton and others, as opening the way for op- 
pression ; as leading to the extingnishment of the sovereigntv 
of the States and as dangerous to the liberty of the people : 
contending that State sovereignty was the true basis of the 
Government ; that the evils arising from the admitted weak- 
ness of the Articles of Confederation "were as nothing com- 
pared to the surrender of State independence to Federal 
Sovereignty." 

After the Constitution had been formed and submitted to 
the States for ratification, Marshall became a candidate for 
election as a member of the Virginia C(Mivention, called to .-ict 
u]3on the question of ratification. 

Able and influential friends, who opposed ratification, 
threatened to defeat him unless he ])Iedged himself to oppose 
ratification. He not only refttsed to make such a pledge, but 
on the contrary, declared himself in favor of ratification, and 
on that isstie he made the campaign and so ably did he present 
the issue, and such was his popularity, that he was elected a 
memlier of the convention, though the sentiment of the Dis- 
trict was adverse to ratification. 

In the \"irginia Convention Marshall's advocacy of the 
ratification of the Constitution was able and vigorous and f.-^r 
reaching; influencing the ratification of the Constitution, not 
only in X'irgiria, but also by other States. His masterlv ar- 
guments in favor of ratification were heralded abroad 
thrughout the country and favorably influenced ratification by 
other States. 

In the X'irginia Convention he met in debate on the ques- 
tion of ratification such men as Patrick Henry, James Monroe 
and (ieorge Mason, who opposed ratification, and he success- 
fully defended the Constitution against their assaults. 

Patrick Henr\- opposed ratification of the constitution 



8 

witli as much zeal, as much al^ihty, as much eloqueucc. as 
when in the \'irginia House of Burgesses he favored the Rev- 
olution and made that world famous speech in which he ex- 
claimed "Ciive me liherty or give me death."" 

Marshall successfully met the a])peals, the eloquence, the 
arguments of Patrick Henry against ratification with unan- 
swerahle arguments, addressed to the reason rather than to 
passion and sentiment. H ratification had failed in Virgini.'i 
it would, without doubt, have failed in a sufficient number of 
States to have defeated the Constitution. It mav, therefoie. 
be confidently asserted that without the efl^orts of Marshall 
in favor of the Constitution and the ratification thereof, ratifi- 
cation would not have carried, for, with all his efforts, it only 
carried by a vote of eighty-nine to seventy-nine, and it can 
not be doubted that his great influence and able arguments 
gained more than ten of the votes in favor of ratification. 

In 1799 Marshall was elected to Congress and took an 
active j^art in the discussion of constitutional questions in that 
l)ody. He there met the ablest men in the country and proved 
to be. and was recognized as, the ablest expounder of the Con- 
stitution in Congress; as great among the great; as "a giant 
among giants." 

P)Ut the crowning benefits conferred upon the nation bv 
Marsliall are his wise and patriotic interpretation and learned 
expounding of the Constitution as Chief Justice of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, into which office he was in 
ducted on the 4th day of February, 1801, the first centennial of 
which we are now commemorating. 

I'^or more than thirtv-four vears Marshall, as Chief Jus- 
tice, met and determined great constitutional questions, which 
arose during the formative period of the National Govern- 
ment, in a manner which saved to the people the lilierties 
achieved by the revolutionary war, and by reason thereof is 
entitled to the chief place among the advocates and expound- 
ers of the Constitution. 

( )ne writer says of Marshall : 

"He is famous in the national annals for his great opin- 
ions defining and interpreting the Federal Constitution and in 
aiding- to consolidate the I^nion." 



i 



Soon after the Constitution was ratified controversy arose 
as to the construction to be placed thereon. One party, the 
Repubhcan, led by JeiTerson. Monroe, Gallatin and other dis- 
tinguished men, contended for a strict construction of the 
Constitution and that no power was conferred other than that 
which is expressly mentioned. The other party, the Federal, 
led by Hamilton. Adams, Jay, Randol]:)h and others, contended 
for a liberal construction and that in the general terms used 
in the Constitution were included implied powers and au- 
thority. 

The construing and interpreting of the Constitution and 
determining what powers, under the Constitution, were con- 
ferred upon the national government and what was reserved to 
the States or to the people, devolved upon the federal judi- 
ciary, of which Marshall was the head and his decisions on the 
points involved, carried the nation through the experimental 
])eriod and settled, from a legal point of view, the question of 
supremacy. 

In the opinion written by ^Marshall in McCuUoch vs. State 
of Maryland, as expressive of his views he said : "The Gov- 
ernment of the Union is a Government of the people ; it ema- 
nates from them ; its powers are granted by them and are to 
be exercised on them and for their benefit. The Government 
of the Union, though limited in its powers, is supreme within 
its sphere of action, and its laws, when made in ]Dursuance of 
the Constitution, form the supreme law of the land." 

xA.long the line of doctrine announced in the decision 
above mentioned were many other decisions of the Court ap- 
plying the doctrine above set forth to the various phases of 
Constitutional Government, but owing to limited time. I will 
only refer to a few of these decisions. 

First in tlie order of importance, is the decision that, un- 
der the Constitution, the Supren:e Court of the United States 
has the authority to pass U]xm the constitutionality of an act of 
Congress, and if found to be unconstitutional, to declare it 
void. Xext in order of imnortance, is the decision that the 
Constitution gives to the Supreme Court authority to pass 
upon the question whether an act of the Legislature of a State 



10 

is in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, 
and if not, to declare it void. 

That decision was a ]:)lo\v to the advocates of State sov- 
ereig-nty in controvention of national supremacv and was de- 
nounced by them and increased and intensified the partv feel- 
ing upon the question involved. 

In the celebrated Dartmouth College case, Marshall held 
that the Constitution prohibited Congress or a State Legisla- 
ture from impairing the obligations of contracts or interfering 
with vested rights. 

Another decision held that even the President of the 
United States could not order to l)e done that which was not 
sanctioned by the Constitution. 

In a suit against the commander of a war ship to recover 
damages for a wrongful act, the commander plead in defense 
an order from the President to do what was done and it was 
held by Marshall that such a defense was not good ; that in- 
structions not warrar.ted bv law can not legalize a trespass" 
even though the instruction comes from the President of the 
L'nited States. 

While under the decision of Marshall on the ((uestions of 
whether the Constituton should be strictl}- or liberally con- 
strued ; whether State sovereignty rr National supremac\' 
should be the basis of (iovernment, were binding and became 
the law of the land, \-et the struggle for the doctrine of State 
sovereignty was continued, and, in fact, did not end till A])- 
pomatox was reached, at the end of the war of the rebellion, 
when it was finally settled by the arbitrament of war. This 
fact, however, does not take a leaf from the crown of laurel 
which the history of the nation has placed upon John Mar- 
shall. The fact that the contention of the Government had 
been, b\- the highest court in the world, held to be legally cor- 
rect, added great strength to the arm of the (iovernment in thj 
war of the rebellion. 

The histor\- of his tin;e renders it i)rol)able, yea almost 
conclusive, that without the inlernretation of the Constitution 
given it bv Chief justice Marshall and his unanswerable rea- 
soning in suj-.jxirt of such interpretaion, the Federal Plan — 
the National ( ;o\-ernnK'nt, under the Constitution would not 
have survived till now. 



11 



It has l)een said l)y those well informed in the premises 
that, without the aid of Marshall in planning- the form of Gov- 
ernment under the Constitution, it would not have been so 
efheiently planned; that, without his influence in favor of the 
Constitution, it would not have been adopted; that, withimt 
his able advocacy of the Constitution after it had been formed 
and submitted to the States, it would not have been maintained 
and the Government under it perpetuated. 

On first view it may be thought these propositions are to 
strong', but it is confidently believed that a proper knowledge 
of Marshall's great service in connection with the adoption, 
ratification and expounding of the Constitution will bear ont 
these propositions and justify such a conclusion. 

As a citizen, as a delegate to the \'irginia Convention, as 
a member of Congress, as a Cabinet ( )fficer, but aliove all, as 
Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Marshall 
was the great advocate and expounder of the Constitution, and 
is pre-eminently worthy of the title of Advocate and Ex- 
pounder of the Constitution and has a rightful place among 
the founders and builders of the Republic, and as such it '"s 
highly proper that his memory should be perpetuated and his 
great services, in laying deep, broad and firmly the foundation 
of our Nation, should be appreciated and commemorated by all 
American citizens. 







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HON. R. C HARRAH. 



ADDRESS BY HON, R, C HARRAH, 



''What Has Alt This to do ivtth John Mashall?'' 

Mr. CliairiJiaii, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

At a farmers" institute recently held in this city, one of 
the lecturers advised his audience if engaged in stock raising, 
to procure pictiu'es of the finest specimens of the ]iarticular 
hreed in which they were most interested, and put them in their 
homes that they might always be reminded of the highest and 
best t}pes of animal life. This was a practical suggestion, 
because if the farmer once falls in love with the beautiftil and 
useful, he can hardly find room for a scrub animal on his prem- 
ises. So the thought is equally suggestive : if we would have 
the highest and best type of citizenship, we must hold tip to 
view the lives of the noble men and women who have made our 
countrA- illustrious, its institutions honored and respected. 
And if an apology for this meeting, by the I'ar of this city, 
were demanded, this might be the answer. Xot that we be- 
lieve in hero worship, or in fulsome or excessive adulation of 
the great men of the nation. 

The world is full of books, yet hew little do we know of 
the lives of the greatest and l)est men who have bVst the nation 
with their example. If they should come bpck to us, like Ri'p 
\'an Winkle, after twenty years, they nnght v^'ell exclaim, 
"and are we so soon forgot." 

We appropriate and use the rich Ic'^'acies which by self- 
denial, industry, and the practice of the s«^--i'-^e^>t virtues, thev 
have left us, with no other thought than tha<; these things must 
always have been so. 

Whv this is a Republic, and vhv we have three co- 
ordinate branches of government, each, in theory, separate and 
in(lei)endent of the other, we do not stoD to inquire, but rush 
n^adlv after the latest work of fiction. Gulliver, Pickwick and 
Don Quixote, berries of romance, a-'e ""reater men than George 
Washington, Thomas Jeft'erson and bihn Marshall, heroes of 
fact. The good books that treat of men who once had a being 
are ] ushed aside for the love stories written to satisfy the pub- 
lic's demand for depravity in literature. 



14 

And so the good books, the beautiful pictures, through 
which we behold the noble traits of the character of the men 
who shaped and fashioned our present form of Government, 
are not put in conspicuous places in our houses. If books 
were our household (iods, and we were fleeing with them to a 
new country to establish a new government, as our fathers did, 
many of us would not have a single volume that would hel]) us 
to erect the new structure. 

You may ask "and what has all of this to do with John 
Marshall ?" Simply this. We apparently know nothing of him. 

A few days after this meeting was arranged, a member of 
this bar visited the library in this city, in search of a book that 
would give a full account of the life and character of the great 
Chief Justice. The young ladies in charge smiled and asked 
if it were a 1)ook on John Marshall. He plead guilty, but that 
did not help him in his quest for more light. Out of nearly 
one thousand volumes could not be found any book with more 
than a page or two devoted to his life, and that too of a man 
who ])resided for thirty-four years over the highest judicial 
tribunal on earth, and of whom it has been jvistly said when he 
was inducted into office: "He found out Constitution paper, 
he made it a power ; he found it a sk.'Ieton and clothed it with 
flesh and blood. 

Throughout all of our extended t erritory, the most solemn 
oath that can be administered is to support that same Constitu- 
tion : not allegiance to any man or set of men, but fealtv to the 
charter of our liberties ; not loyalty to a Prince of Potentate, 
but love for a principle, an ideal, which was but a dream of the 
preceeding ages, until our forefathers, such men as John Mar- 
shall, by their hardships and zealous watchcare, made it the 
bedrock on which the hopes, the aspirations of the greatest, the 
freest ]3eople on earth rest. 

He fought with Washington at r)randywine, Germantown 
and Monmouth; endured the hunger and privations of A'alley 
h\)rge ; lal)ored in the Legislature of \ irginia to secure the 
adoption of the Constitution, and afterwards defended it with 
marked abilitv in the Halls of Congress. And so, it was the 
most natural thing that when he was elevated to this high office, 



15 

in the formative period of our (Government, he should give to 
the conflicting questions that came before him such construc- 
tion as would give vitality to the organic law, and thereby 
secure to posterity the fruits of the war for independence. 

It is true that the Constitution, on is face, purports to be 
supreme, and it is so, not because of the bare statement of the 
fact, btit because Marshall, and his associates, bv their judicial 
fiat said it must be so. The lawyers of that day followed Eng- 
lish precedent, and it was difficult to eradicate the idea that 
any law which Congress might pass and the executive approve, 
was not supreme, notwithstanding it might be in conflict with 
the Constitution, but Marshall rose to the occasion and de- 
clared that the Courts possessed the power to hold such an act 
void. 

It is for such decisions as this, during the thirty-four 
vears he presided as Chief Jtistice, that his memory is honored 
and respected by the liar c^f America. Most of them were 
without precedent upon the broad principle of justice and 
right. Without chart or compass h ? piloted the Constittition 
from the breakers to the high seas, where it has outrode the 
fiercest storms of the century past. He was a student and a 
scholar, with an intuitive knowledge of the right thing to do at 
the right time ; a kind neighbor, a model husband and father ; 
irreproachable in private life, and with a moral courage in pub- 
lic life, that repelled every attempt made to secure from him 
a wrong decision. He was an impartial, just and upright 
judge. Rut we can not rightly appreciate him, or at this dis- 
tance out, behold him in his best estate, without a more inti- 
mate accjuaintance with the men of his time, "who btiilded bet- 
ter than they knew." 

So, let us put up the pictures, look to the ideal man in pub- 
lic life, and gather new inspirations of public virtue from the 
rich treasures of the past, that it may not be said of us, "We 
unworthily enjoy blessings transmitted to us by a noble and 
heroic ancestrv." 




HON. S. F. GILMORE. 



ADDRESS BY HON, 5, K GILMORE, 



'* Marshall as an Exponent of the Civil as Contradis- 
tinguished from the Military Power in Government, 

Air. Chainiiaii. Ladies and Gcitflciiicii : 

From the earliest aj^es man has heen a worshiper of ]Jomi). 
])arade, display, and militarism. 

The early history of the race is l)Ut a reconntin^- of the 
achievements . in hattle, the triumphs of soldiery, the march 
of armies, the victories of hlood, and the estahlishment of 
thrones and the crowning" of Kings through carnage and death. 

Not only history, hut legand, sculpture, painting', poetry 
and song have come down to us through the ages with attrac- 
tive and seductive influences, marshalling' hefore the admiring 
gaze of mankind the dazzling pomp and power antl glory of 
the Military Chieftians of the world. And the exploits of the 
commanders of armies have generalh', almost universally. l)een 
exalted far ahove the modest, retiring and peaceful men who 
l.y jjeaceful methods have led their countrymen into truer prin- 
ciples of living and into hetter Governments. 

VVe have met this evening to commemorate the life and 
cliaracter of one who, in the paths of peace, contributed as 
much, possibly more, than any other single individual of his 
time to connect our country's name with the history of the 
world, and to give it a place, and to render it a power for lead- 
ing them into a higher regard for the rights of man and into 
l)etter forms and ])rinci]iles of Government for maintaining" 
individual liberty. In the struggle, forced upon a people seek- 
ing onlv a just recogni*ion of the inahenable rights of man, 
he performed a conspicious and honorable nart ; but when the 
war for independence enc^ed John Marshall ])ut aside his 
sword, and taking his place in the civil walks of life, devot^'d 
himself with assiduity to tlie practice of law, in which he early 
attained great eminence. 

In Januar^^ i8ot, he was appointed bv President Adams 
Chief justice of the Sujireme Gourt of the l^iited States, and 
on the 4th (lav of b\>bruary of the sar^e year he entered u])on 



18 



the onerous and responsible duties of that high ofifice, scarcely 
second in point of dignity, and I beheve first in point of honor 
and usefulness to the people and to the country. 

In that position, without precedent to guide him, or au- 
thorities to consult, governed only by desire to promote the 
broad principles of right and justice in the administration of 
government he made precedents, and by his judicial opinions 
created authority, which the ablest of the world for a hundred 
years have recognized and adhered to as unerringly correct. 

By the mere strength of his intellect, by his boldness and 
independence of thought, by persistent and almost unremitting- 
labor and diligent research for more than a third of a centuiv, 
and by the purity of his character he laid the foundation for the 
superstructure of a system of juris-prudence under his judicial 
construction of the powers of the Government under the Cor:- 
stitution, over, and its duties to the several States and the citi- 
zens thereof, which has proved as ample for the securing of 
the rights of eighty millions of people spread out over an area 
of territory as wide as the earth if requisite for their expan- 
sion, as it was for the (Government of five millions of people, 
living in a comparativelv circumscribed area at the fcundaticMi 
of the Government. 

Coming upon the bench at a time of bitter ])artisan rancor, 
growing out of two diametrically opposite views and theories 
of the powers of the Government under the Constitution, him- 
self conscientiously imbued with th 2 theories of one of the 
great leading parties, it should not be a matter of wonder that 
bv reason of being made Chief Justice he did not at once cease 
tC' be a man ; nor should it be considered that in order to have 
suddenly been clothed with power to wholly divest himself of 
all preconceived theories and o])inions with reference to ques- 
tions that came u]) for the first time in the history of the (iov- 
ernment for judicial determination. 

And it is not claimed for him that all his judicial construc- 
tions of the limitations of the Constitution were free from po- 
litical bias, and were iminfluenced by long entertained views of 
what to him had seemed correct of administration ; and it is no 
doubt true that, insensibly to himself perhaps, he engrafted the 



19 



reflex of his own political opinions upon the law as he declared 
and established it, and thus became more powerful in enforcing 
from the bench the theory of his school of politics than had he 
held the position of the enactor of statutes. 

Indeed he was subjected to criticism upon that point, but 
it may be replied that this was inseparable from the infirmites 
of human nature and further it could not l)e cause for just 
criticism, for in the absence of precedent, which as a judge he 
would assuredly have followed, why might not a conscientious 
judge adopt the reasoning and conclusions of his own mind, if 
consistent with correct fundamental principles as he under- 
stands them, in reaching judicial conclusions. 

But the fullest answer to the criticism made upon him. is 
found in the fact that the great Tribunal since presided over 
by a line of jurists distinguished alike for their probity and 
learning, has never reversed or materially modified any of the 
constructions of the Constitution as enunciated b^ him. 

And John Marshall today, a hundred years from the date 
of his induction into the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, is recognized not only by the peo- 
])le, by the great statesmen of the country, and its ablest jurists, 
but by the judges of the same Court, as the true expounder of 
the Constitution of our country; and his judicial construction 
of the powers of the (Government under it are accepted as the 
law wherever the authority of the Constitution extends. 

Removed as we are now from the bitterness of partisan- 
ships that prevailed in those days, and looking back over the 
vast field of new and intricate questions involved in the appli- 
cation of principles entirely new in the construction of a writ- 
ten Constitution for the Gove. , mien l of a new born nation, it 
must be conceded that John Marshall, as practically the first 
Chief Justice of the United States, rose to the responsibilities 
wliich the great office imposerl. And not only all American 
lawyers, but all the people of our country, may well count it as 
a marked favor of Almighty (iod toward our Nation that so 
great a mind, directed by such conscientiousness, and a man of 
such unblemished public character and such purity in private 
life, was called to the res]:onsible position which has given to 



20 

our Constitution, in almost all the phases of it in which con- 
structions were necessary, constructions which are in harnionv 
with those universally recognized principles of justice and 
right, which must underlie the fabric of a stable Government, 
and which subsequent experience has shown were essential to 
its perpetuity. 

The overthrow of all attempts to forcible nullification as 
well as of all attempts at secession have long since taught our 
people that the construction of Chief Justice Alarshall was 
right, wherein he declared the law to be that the Constitution 
of our country created a national Ciovernment, which was en- 
dowed with power, by its organic act, to adopt necessary laws 
to enforce its perpetuity. His inflexible purpose to interpret 
the law correctly, independently of personal consideration, and 
of executive infiuence, was illustrated in the case of Marbury 
vs. Madison, in which the rights of an appointee to office by 
President Adams just at the close of his administration, an ap- 
pointment that was very distasteful to President Jefferson, be- 
tween whom and Judge Marshall there had been such bitter 
partisan feeling as had led to strained personal relations, came 
before the Supreme Court. The political friend and the ex- 
ecutive who had called Marshall to his high office, was the real 
plaintiff and the bitter political opponent of the Chief Jtistice 
was the real defendant. 

The case was before the Court when the judge was fresh 
from the arena of partisan politics at a time when it might 
have lieen supposed ])ersonal and ]H)litcal considerations might 
not as yet have lost their potency over the mind of even a con- 
scientious man and an upright judge. A question that had 
never before come before the Supreme Court was presented, 
namelv, the right and duty of the Court to pass upon the con- 
stitutionality of a law of Congress; nt)t only a new, but a deli- 
cate (juestion, one which at that time seemed to be an invasion 
bv one branch of the (lovernment u])()n the inde])endence and 
power of a co-o]:)erate branch, the right of the Court to de- 
clare an act of Congress a nullity. 

In the course of the (!])inion Judge Marshall said, "The 
question whether an act rei)ugnant to the Constitution can be- 



21 



come the law of the land is a question deeply interesting' to the 
United States. ■■'■ * If the Courts are to regard the 

Constitution, and the Constitution is superior to any ordinary 
act of the Legislature, the Constitution, and not such act must 
govern the case to which they apply. 

"Those who controvert the principle that the Constitution 
is to he considered in Court as a paramount law, are remanded 
to the necessity of maintaining that Courts must close their 
eyes on the Constitution and see onlv the law. * * * 
Could it be the intention of those who gave this power to say 
that the Constitution should not be locked into ? This is too 
extravagant to be maintained. 

"It is declared no tax or duty shall be levied on articles 
exported from any State ; suppose a duty on the export of cot- 
ton, tobacco or ilour, and a suit instituted to recover it, ought 
the judges to close their eyes to the Constituion and only see 
the law ? 

"The particular ]dn-aseology of the Constitution of the 
United States confirms and strengthens the principle, supposed 
to be essential to all written Constitutions, that a law repug- 
nant to the Constitution is void, and that courts as well as 
other departments are bound by that instrument." 

In arriving at the judgment of the Court, Judge Marshall, 
closing his eyes to every consideration except loyalty to the 
Constitution of his countr}- and fidelity to its principle, held 
that the act of Congress providing for the bringing of the 
case into the Court was in violation of the Constitution, and 
therefore void, and that the Court was without jurisdiction. 
The criticisms upon Judge Marshall were that he favored the 
theory of a strong central Government and considered the 
Constitution as supreme over both State and National Legisla- 
ture, repugnant to its provisions ; but he maintained the su- 
premacy of the Constitution for the purpose only of establish- 
ing a more perfect Union, and for the promotion of the gen- 
eral welfare, and for maintaining the rights of man, and con- 
stitutional free government, and nothing can be found in his 
decisions that could, by any possible interpretation, give color 
to a doctrine that the power of the Constitution authorized the 



22 



l)uilding- np of a system of administration, and domain by the 
Government, over people anywhere upon the face of the globe, 
without their consent. 

\\'ith such an illustrious example of independence before 
it as was thus given by the first Great Chief Justice, it is not 
strange that the Supreme Court of the Cnited States has rarely 
been the subject of unfavorable criticism either by the people 
at large, by statesmen or by men 1 earned in the law ; and with 
such an examnle set by Chief Justice Marshall surelv none can 
doubt that our Supreme Court as at present constituted will, 
in important cases now, or hereafter pending before it. involv- 
ing constitutional questions, act independently of executive in- 
fluence or patronage or partisan bias; and will render judg- 
ments that will commend the court and all its distinguished and 
able members to the same approval with which the present gen- 
eration regards the judicial character and the opinions of 
Chief Justice Marshall : and will uphold the great Constitution, 
and apply its principles, so anijile in the rights of the individual 
citizenship, so that the humblest in the land will feel and wi^l 
l)e secure against the encroachments of centralized power, and 
against the attacks of interests that are inimical to the general 
good and subersive of the jjrinciples of a free Government. 

The work and life of Judge Marshall in its benefits to the 
nation and to the world are little less valuable than were the 
life and works of Washington. And it is believed Washing- 
ton was a special instrument in the hands of Providence for 
obtaining a recognition of the United States as a free and in- 
dependent (lovernmcnt among the nations of the world, so 1 
1)elieve John Marshall was a chosen instrument of Providence 
for the establishment and perpetuitv of constitutional Govern- 
ment in this countrv upon a basis of ])rinciples that will give it 
perrnenance, and which will ever be broad enough to be 
adapted to the (iovernmerit of a free people, who will always 
remain lo\al to the ])rincii)les of true Reptiblicanism, h(~)wever 
boundlessly the}- may expand. 

And I feel sure that with the examj^le of this illustrious 
man l)efi:re us, no Chief Justice of that, the greatest of all 
Human Tribunals, will ever sit in that high place and reverse 



23 



the precedents of Judge Marshall or hold that the great Con- 
stitution as expounded by him, has served its day and gener- 
ation, and that its principles as expounded by Judge Marshall, 
so powerful for upholding the rights of a free people and of 
establishing freedom among mankind are too old or too cir- 
cumscribed for any growth our country mav make in the near 
or remote future. 

To the members of the bar, what an inspiration we may 
all find in the life of him whose memory we this evening com- 
memorate ! Such lives show the inestimable value to a nation 
and to the world, of a great leader in civil life, and while we 
v.'ould not under-estimate the services of the great soldiers of 
our country, we can never sufficiently value the character or too 
highly commend the virtues of John Marshall, who, in the 
humble walks of peace, has done so much to exalt the power 
and the influence of the civilian in the establishment of con- 
stitutional Government in this country. 

All may emulate his example, and while all will fall short 
in degree, yet, if we can so discharge the responsibilities of our 
profession within our circumscribed and humble spheres, that 
at life's close we have no regret, it may be given us to realize 
at the end 

"What a glory this world puts on 

For him who with a fervent heart goes forth 

Under the bright and glorious sky, and looks 

On duties well performed, and days well spent ; 

For him the wind, ay and the yellow leaves, 

Shall have a voice, and give him eloquent teaching. 

He shall so hear the solemn hymn that Death 

Has lifted up for all, that he will go 

To his long resting place without a tear." 




HON. W. B. WRIGHT. 



I 



ADDRESS BY HON, W, B, WRIGHT. 



*' Marshall as a Judge/' 

Mr. Chainnaii, Ladies ami Gciiticuicn : 

It does not al\va\-s follow when a man is chosen to fill a 
ji-dicial office, that he deserves the title of Judge. An old lady 
with a very large projecting bonnet and a very small voice was 
a witness in a case. The Court, after repeatedly requesting 
her to speak louder impatiently ordered her to remove her bon- 
net, that her testimonv might be heard. She arose to her feet 
and declined, asserting there was no law to compel a ladv to 
remove her head gear in public. "Ah," said the Judge. "Since 
you know so much law, perhaps you had better take a seat here 
on the bench." She courtesied low and replied, "Xo, i thank 
your Honor, there are too many old women there now." 

Happily, the remark does not apply to many judges. 
Socrates once said, "b^our things belong tO' a judge: To 
hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly, and to 
decide impartially." Courtesy, wisdom, soberness, (that is 
calmness) and impartialitw are four sterling attributes, and 
}et it seems to me the ideal judicial character is not completely 
rounded out unless we add to them, courage. All these qual- 
ities were possessed in marked degree by the hero of this oc- 
casion. 

When he entered upon the discharge of his duties as Chief 
Justice of the highest tribunal in this nation, the Court had 
been organized eleven years and had decided only about one 
hundred cases, none of them involving questions of much im- 
portance to any one except the parties to the suits. The Con- 
stitution had not been construed. Two political parties ex- 
isted, one holding to the idea that the Federal Government 
under the Constitution was vested with almost exclusive sov- 
ereign power ; the other holding to the idea that sovereignty 
resided or remained in the States, and any State had a right 
within its jurisdiction to nulify an act of Congress, or ignore 
the judgments of the Federal Courts. The enforcement of the 
one idea meant the subjection of the States and of the indi- 



26 

vidiial citizen to the whims of the Congress and the executive. 
If the other idea should prevail it meant a Federal Government 
in name only, a Government depending for its power upon the 
sufferance or acquiesence of the States. Both ideas were ex- 
treme and arose from different and opposing constructions of 
the contending parties. It devolved upon the Court of whicli 
he was the head and which his great intellectualitv dominated, 
to define the extent and limits of the powers granted bv the 
States to the Government in general terms by the Constitution. 

He v/rote most of the opinions and is credited with dictat- 
ing the policy of the court in nearly all the cases involving im- 
portant constitutional questions during his long term of service. 

He held that the Constitution was not mere paper, but that 
it meant something ; that by its adoption the people had not 
only created a government, but had delegated to its real 
powers, which it might exercise, and with the exercise of 
which no State, even in its ov\mi territorv or jurisdiction, had 
any right to interfere. 

He held that the Supreme Court of the United States was 
the final judge of the limit and extent of those powers. He 
held that an act of Congress not witliin the powers granted 
was void. 

He held that an act of the Legis'ature of a State dealing 
with a subject over which Congress had been given exclusive 
power by the Constitution was void. 

He held that the construction of a State statute or a State 
Constitution by a State Court was final. 

He held the commander of a war ship liable in damages to 
a person injured, though he acted u ider instructions from the 
President, upon the ground that instructions, though from the 
highest executive officer of a nation, if unwarranted bv law, 
could not legalize a trespass. 

There may not appear to be much in these short state 
ments of a few of the holdings of this great judge. The prin- 
ciples stated are now familiar to every lawyer long before he 
qualifies himself to practice. They are now treated as funda- 
mental principles of constitutional law. Text writers and 
Courts refer to them as axiomatic propositions — and yet. he 



27 

was the first to g-ive tliem form; they are the jiKhoial children 
of his fertile brain, and serve in a great measure to draw the 
line between federal and State authority and illustrate the 
limitations of the power of the (_^cvernment to interfere with 
the individual rights and liberties of a citizen. When thev 
went forth they were often in danger of being crushed be- 
tween the upper and nether stones of conflicting political ideas. 
One case will illustrate how his decisions Vv'ere often treated. 
In the case of Worcester vs. ihe State of Georgia, he held a 
s atute of Georgia void as in conflict with the Constitution. 
The State openly refused to carry out the decision, and when 
the attention of President Jackson was called to it. he sarcasti- 
cally remarked : "■John Marshall has made his decision ; now 
let him execute it." 

The Court can not go forth with sword and bavonet and 
carncn to execute its decrees, but the opinions of John Mar- 
shall went forth with the flaming sword of right reason, and 
enforced themselves by the irresistable pov\'er of their logic 
and completeness. 

Judge Story, for many years an associate of Marshal!, 
says of his work in the Court : "His master mind has presided 
in their deliberations, and given to the results a cogency of 
reasoning, a depth of remark, a persuasiveness of argument, 
a clearness and laboration of ilkistration and an elevation and 
comprehensiveness of conclusion to which none other offers 
a parallel." 

The nianner in which his logic confused his critics is well 
illustrated bv a remark of John Randolph, one of his bitterest 
political enemies: One of his opinions was being criticized 
severelv. "Yes." savs Randolph, "John Alarshall's o])inion is 
all wrong, btit the trouble is. there is not a man in the United 
States Senate who'can point out wherein it is wrong." And 
thus it v/as that although the judgement of the Court was not 
alwavs enforced in the particular case and seldom escaped se- 
vere criticism, the principles laid down in the opinions of 
Marshall forced themselves upon the reason and conscience 
of the nation and were adoj^ted and now remain the settled 
law of the land. 



2S 

While this cahiiness and ccnirag-e were often tried, his ju- 
dicial fitness and impartiality were never more severely tested 
than in the trial of Aaron Burr for treason, at which he pre- 
sided. Burr himself had defined law to be "whatever is boldly 
asserted and plausibly maintained." His hand was reeking 
with the blood of Alexander Hamilton, the bosom friend of 
Marshall. The administration was making every possible 
efifort to secure his conviction. The Federalists despised and 
hated him; the mob demanded his blood; he had no friends; 
he was a cunning', unscrupulous, dangerous man ; his convic- 
tion would have been applauded by the nation. He was be- 
fore the Court charged with treason. Marshall knew how 
popular a conviction would make him, and how unpopular he 
would be if Burr was acquitted. But treason was the charge. 
The Constitution provides that "treason against the Uniterl 
States shall consist only in levying war against them or adher- 
ing to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort," and that 
no conviction shall be had unless an "overt act" be proven by 
the testimony of two witnesses. The charge was not made 
out by the evidence, and Marshall so instructed the jury and 
practically directed a verdict of acquittal. It is certain that 
he keenly felt the condemnation of his action, which he knew 
was sure to come, for in his opinion in that case, he v/rites, 
"Xo man is desirous of becoming the peculiar subject of 
calumny. No man, might he let the cup pass from him with- 
out reproach, would drain it to the bottom. But if he has no 
choice in the case ; if there is no alternative presented to him 
but a dereliction of duty or the approbrium of those who are 
denominated the world, he merits the contempt as well as the 
indignation of his country, who can hesitate which to em- 
brace." Noble words are these. They cause the judicial 
character to stand out in l:)old 4*elief. They j^rove his fitness 
for the place he held, or any other. They show that individual 
rights and liberties are safe in the hands of the Courts. They 
furnish an inspiration for any man who reaches the bench and 
bid him select for his model one of the highest and best repre- 
sentatives of the American Bench, John Marshall, the Judge. 



ADDRESS BY ADA K KEPLEY. 



'* Marshall as a Patriot/' 

Ladies and Gentlemen : 

The great element in the character of Chief Justice Mar- 
shall was Patriotism. He might justly have made his own 
the words of Coriolanus : "I do love my Country's good, with o^ 
respect mere holy, more tender, more profound than mine own 
life." In Vvhatever position he labored, clear cut, clean, ami 
distinct above every other motive, his ends and aims were all 
his country's. His fellow countrymen do not know him yet, 
nor all they owe to him. It was the large hope of one who 
loved his life, and who originated the thought in Illinois from 
whence the Nation received it, that these meetings would in- 
troduce the great John Marshall to his countrymen, and inspire 
them with the same love, and zeal and patriotism he felt for 
our Native Land. 

John Marshall came into existence at a thrilling time in 
the history of the Republic. History claims he was born to 
dream dreams and see visions. He might have heard the 
words, he no doubt knew, "Let all the ends thou aimst at be 
thy Country's, thy God's, and Truths." 

On every hand was strife, over new and great govern- 
mental questions, for a Constitution had been born, the like 
of which tlie world had never seen before, and grave questions 
of policy, and adjustment to new conditions, and untried theo- 
ries were before the people ; patriots as honest espoused differ- 
ent sides of these and they regarded their opponents with sus- 
picion and alarm. There were Aaron Burrs, Benedict 
Arnolds, and ether traitors and tories. on every hand. 

The eld world was doing all it could to destroy the new 
Government that had denied and denounced the right of Kings 
to rule, and who had, so to speak, published it on the mountain 
tops, that all the world might hear and understand, and that 
had announced as clearly the right of the governed to rule, 
make their own laws and attend to their own business. 




ADA H. KEPLEY. 



31 

The grand motive in Jclm Marshall's life was to stand for 
a imited country, on battle fields, in camps, in halls of legisla- 
tion, in councils of State, in foreign courts, in the judiciary, 
and he did it, no matter what the obstacle, the harassment or 
the cost. 

While others saw one side only of the great questions of 
Government, Marshall, the patriot, rose as on eagle's wings 
into the cool, clear heights of being, where he scanned and 
vvcighed them in the rare air of pure reason and with an irre- 
sistible logic, in the fear of God, free from passion and preju- 
dice, he swept the whole field of vision, mastered the whole 
subject, and then, without fear of consequences, gently but 
firmly announced the results that could not be refuted. 

It was as if with a mighty spiritual searchlight he swept 
the dark sky, illuminated the whole, and found the precious 
truth that was needed for the enlightment of our people and 
the world. 

In office the most of his life he took it with reluctance, and 
often refused to accept, but the people would have him. His 
great desire was to practice his profession, the law, and stay 
at home with his family ; but when a need arose for his ser- 
vices, he dropped everything and took his place for service, 
however hard. People trusted him, for he was absolutely pure 
hearted, and sincere, and was beloved of men. Washington 
was 21, Patrick Henry 19 years of age when Marshall v/as 
born. With Washington the father of John, Thomas Mar- 
shall, was c]( se'v associated, so the son was full of the patri- 
otic zeal of his times. At 22 we find him a lieutenant with the 
Culpepper Minute men, young fellows like himself, who were 
inspired by the patriotic addresses he made to them, as dressed 
in suits of green, with Patrick Henry's thrilling words "Lib- 
erty or Death" in white letters across their breasts they 
marched to fight the foe. Over their heads they carried a 
banner with a rattle-sr.ake upon it, and the legend "Don't tread 
on me." 

Young Marshall was ordered to lead a flanking charge at 
Stone Bridge, where his father fought galleotly as a major, 
and so fierce v/as the attack that the day was won. 



32 

At the bloody field of Brandywine, the Marshalls, father 
and son, did noble service, and John took part in the battles of 
Germantown, Monmouth and Iron Hill, rising to a captaincy. 
Going to take charge of some men he was so poor and ragged 
he was refused entertainment at an inn. At Valley Forge he 
shared the sufferings of that terrible winter with the troops, 
cheerful, uncomplaining and hopeful. He was often made a 
judge of camp affairs because of his unfailing patience, kind- 
ness and justice, and he won the deep friendship of Washing- 
ton as well as of the men in camp. Marshall was a number 
of times a member of the Virginia Legislature. At thirtv- 
three years he ably advocated and defended the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution, silencing the ablest opponents to it, and 
there were many older and well equipped, so it was a great 
victory for the young patriot as well as for the people. 

He was in Congress twice ; once at the earnest solicitation 
of Washington, then once as Secretary of War, and Secretary 
of State, and finally as Chief Justice laboring valliantly for his 
beloved country. It should not be forgotten he served the 
commission sent by our Government to France, and so well did 
he manage that the people, delighted in him, and Patrick 
Henry, who hated him politically, sent word, — tell Marshall I 
love him for what he has done on the French Commission. 

In the National and State legislative bodies when grave 
questions arose he was frequently warned that certain things 
if done would work his political ruin, but he calmly followed 
the dictates of his own heart and conscience, fearing nothing, 
and time, the great tester of men's actions, has crowned him 
patriot. 

In my own mind I join Lincoln and Marshall, for they are 
alike in many ways. Marshall was the expounder, Lincoln 
the defender of the Constitution, and the blood of Lincoln was 
the seal upon the work that Marshall did for a united people. 

Able lawyers have said Marshall was surely sent of God 
to guide our Nation into the safe harbor of constitutional law. 

I wish now to inquire if there is not something of practical 
benefit we may learn from the life of this great Heaven sent 
soul to help us on to a higher patriotism, and that is one of the 
objects of this meeting. 



33 

John Marshall was the oldest of fifteen children, and the 
family was poor except in affection and culture, and in love 
of country. John was taught at home, studying Latin one 
year with the Scotch rector of the church, and was a year at a 
school, where he in no way distinguished himself. The 
father was well read in good literature and taught his children 
to love it. John was especially fond of the Bible, history, 
Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden and Pope, and his memory was 
stored with treasures from them all, and there is no doubt this 
reading formed his clear, distinct and simple style, and high 
ideals. It is written of him that he was a dreamy, romantic 
boy, who loved to wander in woods and fields, no doubt seeing 
visions as he meditated upon the deep things of the Universe. 
Like David of old, John Marshall had the blue vault of Heaven 
for the dome of his college — and there is no doubt he com- 
muned with God — for he was absolutely clean of heart and free 
from guile, and a sincere and earnest church man, and 
Christian. He reverenced his father and mother, and never 
gave them serious cause for offense. 

Mary Keith, the mother of John Marshall, was a descend- 
ant of a Scotch family that fought with Bruce. It was in- 
evitable that her son should have high love and zeal for God 
and country. Marshall said his mother was a woman of strong 
character and made a powerful impress upon him for good. 
To his last hour he said each night the little prayer his mother 
taught him, and that our mothers teach us, "Now I lay me 
down to sleep." 

To children Marshall was kind, to women chivalrous, to 
his family deeply devoted, to all, even the humblest, kind and 
gentle. He loved the simple homely things in life, and his 
affairs were all conducted with great simplicity, and after all 
these are the great things. 

When he wrote his epitaph, he said : John Marshall, son 
of Thomas and Mary Marshall, married to Mary Willis 

Ambler , Died , and other hands added the date 

of his death. 

He desired to be remembered as the son of his dear pa- 
rents, and the faithful husband of his beloved wife. 



34 



Marshall married Alary Willis Ambler after the war, and 
they lived a happy domestic life together for 50 years at Rich- 
mond, where their ashes repose. When the wife from long 
invalidism was no longer able to attend church with him, he 
would read the service over to her before he went, and after 
she was no more, he would sit by the chair she occupied in life, 
and read the service in silence. He was not ashamed to con- 
fess that he shed tears for her each night, who had been the 
"solace of his life." 

We cannot all hope to possess the native powers that shall 
make us mighty in the State, and in the judiciary, or in places 
that demand the possession of the highest powers, but we may 
all, however humble our endowments, possess and practice the 
virtue of patriotism, and so help to perpetuate our institutions ; 
we can be pure of heart, and as guileless, as faithful church 
men and women and as honest, earnest * christiansas John 
Marshall ; we can be patient and gentle and kind and helpful 
to all ; we can read the books he read and master their noble- 
ideas ; we can learn to dream dreams and see visions of our 
country's good ; we can study the great book of nature, and be 
liuml^le before Him by whom it was made. We can reverence 
our fathers and our mothers, giving them no cause for offense ; 
we can teach the children the same virtues, as elemental to the 
highest patriotism. 

Fathers in those times so troubulous, and big with por- 
tents we do not understand, you can teach your sons and 
daughters patriotism, and not partizanism. Mothers, like 
Mary Marshall, you can fill the heads and hearts of your little 
ones so full of patriotism, so full of God and country, that our 
institutions shall strike yet deeper roots, and great men and 
•vomen shall be born that shall meet a need in their day and 
generation like Marshall met in his. 

The common homely virtues of John Marshall, cleanness 
of heart, industry, faithfulness to God, are fundamental in 
cliaracter and the basis of all true greatness. 

Neal Dow, the patriot, died at 93 years, after a life of goo^l 
cieeds for his country. As his last moments drew near he tool: 
tlie hand of the faithful daughter who ministered to him, called 



35 



her mother, and hegan the Httle prayer he learned in infancy 
at a loving mother's knee; "Xow I lay me down to sleep." 
'i he voice failed, the eyes closed, he was asleep. 

When I read that the great John Marshall, every night 
before he composed himself for rest, said the little prayer his 
ctrong-hearted mother taugh.t his baby lips to repeat, I said 
this is what Jesusjneant when he said we must become as lit- 
tle children. 

Down at the root of all great natures is the child likeness 
we see in John Marshall. Revertial, gentle, kind, and who 
shall gainsay that the little child taught to pray at a faithful 
mother's knee gets its first impulse to a high patriotism like 
John Marshall's, and so steadies the great ship of state with all 
its precious burdens, and helps guide her through every storm 
that rages, into safe harbors and into all ports. Let us culti- 
vate the simple, homely virtues that lead to the highest patriot- 
i:m even to praying John Marshall's prayer : 

"Now I lay me down to sleep, 

I pray the Lord my soul to keep ; 

If I should die before I wake, 

I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen." 

'Rev. S. M. Morton pronounced the benediction: 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the blessing of Govl 
the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, abide with 
you, and with all in this broad land and every other who fear 
God and love their countrv. Amen! 



After the addresses the members of the Ear and 
invited o-uests numberino- more than one hundred re- 
paired to the banquet room to partake of a banquet 
which was awaiting them. Hon. Benson Wood was 
toastmaster, and the following toasts were responded to: 

"The Dignity ot the Lawyer" — W. S. Holmes. 

"The Leo-acv of ^farshall"— Geo. F. Taylor. 

"Marshall as a Man"— Judge D. L. Wright. 




HON. D. L. WRIGHT. 



TOAST BY HON, D, I, WRIGHT 



''Marshall as a Man/' 

Mr. Toastmaster, Ladies and Gciitleiiicit : 

We have this evening- heard the man}' virtnes of that great 
and good man extoled, eulogized and glorified, but how many 
of us present stop for a moment to think that John Marshall 
was only a man and lived among men ; usually able and always 
capable of participating in and enjoying just such a bountiful 
repast as we have this evening partaken of. 

His boyhood days were spent in the same way that other 
boys of his time spent their days. His evenings were em- 
ployed in tlie cultivation of his mind, and the sturdy parent 
was not unmindful of the welfare of his son, as he employed a 
competent tutor for John and the other fourteen of his flock. 

As a young man he was fond of sports of his day. He 
was a good sprinter, champion at the game of quoits or the 
pitching of horse shoes, an expert whist player and a fine bil- 
liard ])layer. These games he enjoyed and participated in 
even at the age of seventy. 

He was a practical joker and enjoyed a good joke, even at 
his own expense. It is said of him that one day while in the 
library he fell from a step ladder, bruising himself quite se- 
verely and scattering an armful of books over the floor. When 
an attendant, coming to his assistance and relief, inquired if he 
were hurt, his Honor replied in his dry way, "Xo, but that time 
I was completely floored." 

In stature he was tall, lean, lank and ungainly; in ap- 
pearance, sloven, usually wore an unbrushed , long-skirted 
black coat, and a voluminous white cambric cravat, usually 
soiled. He was industrious, studious, courteous, afifable, and 
above all things, honest. As a civilian, modest; as a public 
officer, great. It was these plain and simple virtues that 
made him great ; yet, with all, he was only a man, true to his 
Maker and true to man. 



In the forenoon there were John Marshall Day 
exercises at the High School, at which Gus A. Elbow, 
of the Effingham Bar, delivered the address. In the 
afternoon there was a John Marshall program at 
Austin College, Harry S. Parker, of the Effingham 
Bar, making the principal address. 



W84 




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